Window shade construction



Feb. l5, 1949. c. G. BARRows WINDOW SHADE CONSTRUCTION 3 Sheets-Sheet l Filed July 13,l 1944 INVENTOR Aff/wf @AR/@Wg www;

ATTORNEYS Ill Feb. 15, 1949. c. G. BARRoWs 2,461,870

v WINDOW SHADE CONSTRUCTION Filed'July 15, 1944 s sheets-sheet 2 Feb. l5, l949. C, BARRQWS 2,461,870

WINDOW SHADE CONSTRUCTION Filed July 15, 1944 3 Sheets-Sheet 5 M6. 9%@ ZO 28 ZO Z8 L n A Patented Feb. 15, 1949 2,461,870 WINDOW SHADE CONSTRUCTION Clarence G. Barrows, Hamden, Conn., assignortol The Safety Car Heating and LightingCompany, Inc., a corporation of Delaware Application July 13, 1944, Serial No. 544,721

This invention relates to window shades. More particularly, it has to do with shades useful, for example, in railway cars and similar places where varying exposures and amounts of sunlight present themselves from time to time and where space limitations must be considered.

It is an object vof the invention to provide means wherein translucent and opaque shade materials are combined in a practical and novel manner so that the degree of outside light admitted through a window may be controlled at will. An additional object is the provision of improved roller constructions whereby shades may be movedl from the lateral extremities of a window toward the central portion thereof by means of a single crank or operating device. A further object is the provision of a practical shade construction conforming to size and space specications such that it may be installed in the hermetically sealed space within a double glazed window frame. Still another object is the provision of a universally useful shade construction which may be manufactured and assembled commercially and which has features and advantages not available in the shade constructions heretofore known in the prior art. vOther objects and advantages will be in part pointed out as the description proceeds and will in part become apparent therefrom.

The invention accordingly consists in the features of construction, combinations of elements, and arrangements of parts as will be exemplified in the structure to be hereinafter described and the scope of the application of which will be set forth in the appended claims.

In the accompanying drawings, in which only one form of the invention is specifically illustrated:

Figure 1'shows an elevational view of a Window frame embodying the invention;

Figure 2 is a sectional side elevation upon an enlarged scale taken along the irregular line 2-2 of Figure 1 in the direction of the arrows;

Figure 3 is a sectional plan View taken along novel combination illustrated in Figures 1-4 indicating the mechanical relationship of the parts;

Figure 6 is an elevational View of the window frame illustrated in Figure showing the outer lateral portions of the window opening covere by means of a translucent material; t

Figure 'l is a sectional view taken along the line 'l-T of Figure 6;

Figure 8 is an elevational view showing the entire window portion covered by means of the translucent material ofthe curtain;

Figure 9 is a sectional view taken along the line 9-9 of Figure 8 in the direction of the arrows;

Figure 10 is an elevational view of thewindow frame showing the central portion covered by means of the translucent material with the two side portions. covered by means of an opaque material; 1f Y Figure 11 is a sectional view taken along the line lll-'H of FigurelO; l

Figure 12 is a further elevational view of the window frame showing the entire window portion covered bymeans of the opaque material of the shade;

Figure 13 is a sectional view taken along the line |3-I3 of Figure 12;

Figure 14 is an enlarged fragmentary elevation showing the connection between the shades and the drawing mechanism therefor; and, Figure 15 is a section taken along the line I5 I5 of Figure 14. f

In the embodiment here shown the shade structure is illustrated positioned within the airtight space formed between double glazing such as might be found in a modern railway car. A roller is positioned extending generally in a vertical direction along each side of the window within a recess of the Window frame.l And a crank is provided whereby the leading edge portions of the shades may be unrolled so as to approach one another and meet at the central part of the window. The construction allows an overlapping relationship between the two shades so that novel and useful arrangements 4of translucent and apaquev materials. are vmade possible. Thus, the window may be left unobstructed, or it may be partly or fully screened by the translucent portions,` or various relationships of translucent and opaque materials may be combined lso as to let in any amount of sunlight which is available orV desired and at the same time prevent direct observation into the interior by any one on the outside. Also the shades may be made of colored transparent or translucent materials if specific decoration requirements are to be met or if it is desirable to lter the entering light rays in any manner.

In the shade constructions heretofore commonly known and used, one horizontal roller Was f possible.

usually provided above the window in such fashion that the shade might b pulled downwardly from the top so as to close off a given amount of the window from top to bottom. These structures did not make adequate provision for controlling the amount of light which was to be admitted. Thus, although they could prevent the occurrence of observation from outside into the interior, they gave no choice to the occupants as to the amount of light which would be admitted if privacy was to be secured within. The shade had to be pulled completely to the bottom, thus cutting olf all natural light from outside. And correspondingly, no provision was made for modulating the amount of natural light admitted except insofar as it might be wholly excluded from passing through certain portions of the window.

Figure 1 illustrates a window generally indicated at having at its right-hand side a shade 'portion 422and -at its left-hand side a-shade portion 24. A vertically extending draw'rod 23 forms 'the'leading edge of shade portion 22 as it is unrolled and similarly a draw rod'25 forms the leading edge of shade portion 24 as it is unrolled. A

crank 28 located toward the central upper portion L of the frame is provided Vfor controlling the position of the-shade portions, as will be described hereinafter. Each roller is so arranged that the first half of' the shade to unroll is translucent and the second half opaque. Of course, these portions of the shades may be oi any desirable material and color according to specified requirements, their characteristics as specified being illustrative herein.

Figures 6-13 show the manner in which the shade portions may be controlled so as to regulate the amount of light admitted to the interior throughthe window. In Figure 6 crank 28 has been positioned so as to move translucent portions 22a and 24a'over the side areas of the window. Figure 8 illustrates the'entire window with porytions-22a and 24a cutting off all view through theWindoW but allowing light to pass from the outside through the translucent material of the shade. fInFigure l0 the translucent portions have been overlapped somewhat (see also Figure 11) so as to leave `a central part where two layers of translucent material are provided. An opaque part on either side is formed by shade portions '22cxand 24e.l A dividing line between translucent portion 22a and opaque portion 22e is indicated by means of reference character 2212. Likewise the dividing line between translucent portion 24a -and opaque portion -24c is indicated by means of reference. 4character 241). Figure 12 shows each vthe character of the entering light rays or both.

Figure 2 illustrates a part of the construction which makes operation of the shade combination The window consists of a channelshaped casing shown in cross' section in Figure 2 which extends around the window and which carries a pane of glass 42 on its outside and a panegof glass44 on its inside. A sealing gasket 46 is provided between pane 42 and the casing in combination with a bead. 41 to effect an airtight seal around the glass. On the interior side of the window a sealing gasket 48 and a bead 49 are provided between casing 40 and pane 44 so as to form an airtight space insulating the inside from the outside. The shade and its entire operating mechanism, except crank 28, is located within this airtight space.

A shaft 52 is carried within the upper portion of casing 40 between bearings 54 and 55. Shaft 52 is rotatableby means of crank 28, and a sealing sleeve 56 is provided around shaft 52 so as to prevent passage .of air into or out of the airtight space between the two panes of glass. The outer end of sleeve 56 is clamped between a flanged portion 54a of bearing 54 and casing 40, the inner or right-hand end of the sleeve, as viewed in Figure 2, being clamped between a nut 51 threaded on shaft 52 and a shoulder 52a formed on 'the shaft. Sleeve 56 is longer-than the distance between bearing flange 54a and shoulder 52a so that it is overlapped therebetween. Sleeve 56 ismade preferably of rubber or any other Vsuitable flexible material, and accordingly upon rotation of shaft 52 by operation of crank 28 twists, i. e. its inner end moves relativeto its outerl end, the overlapping portions of Ythe sleevef accommodating this twisting, while at the `same time effectively sealing the air-tight space between thef panes of glass against leakage through bearing 54.

VShaft 52 Vhas keyed thereto a crank arm 58 which'extends downwardly to form a support for Va pinion shaft 5B. A piniongear 82 is carried on the .left-hand end of pinion shaft 6D, as viewed in Figure 2, and a sprocket 64 is carried on the right-hand end of the pinion shaft. Pinion gear 62 is meshed withan internal gear segment 66 (seel also Figure 4) ;so that rotation of crank 28 and shaft 5,2 causes relative movement of pinion Vshaft with respectto internal gear segment 66 .so as vto effect rotation of pinion shaft B0 and henceof sprocket64. Sprocket 64 meshes with Aasprocket chain 68 whichis parallel to arm 58 and meshes with a sprocket 'I0 located upon Ashaft Sprocket Vlil is freely rotatable upon Aand with respect to shaftk 52 and .serves by means of an intermediate hub 'Il .to .drive a drive sprocket l2, sprocket 1.0, hub 'Il andsprocket 12 preferably beingfintegral. .Drive sprocket 12 cooperates with an intermediate sprocket chain 4'i4 (see also Figures 3 and 4) to transmit driving motionto a roller sprocket 16. Roller sprocket 16 drives an integral shade sprocket I3 which in turn meshes with a shade sprocket chain 80 (see FigureB) A pair of sprocket idlers 82 and 83 (see Figure 5) are arranged so as to spacethe opposite. runs of chainsand 85a close enough together as to preventexcessive clearance between shades 22 and 24 and hence excessive. light leakage therebetweenwhen draw rods 23 and 25y coincide. Sprocket idler 82 is carried byva bracket '-84 (see Figure 3) `whichextends from casing 40.

Sprocket idler 83 is Vsimilarly mounted at the other side of the frame. i

A pair of spindles V88 and 89 on the left `and :right-handsides` of the frame are connected to ofv an end plate 9,2. Rollerl i at the right-hand side of the frame is similarly carried by means `of spindle 89. Ailweb orplug 94 is disposed within rol1er-90, :being freely mounted about spindle 88 for movement relative thereto but being pinned #to roller was by a vpin 94a. This plug 94-com prises an anchor for the lower end 96a of a spring '296,'the upper end of which is attached in any ysuitablemanner to spindle 80. When the roller,

web and spring are assembled on spindle 88, spring '96 isl put' under an initial tension which tends to rotate drum 90 relative to spindle 88. However, as shade 24 is attached to draw rod 25, which is in turn attached to chains 80 and 80a (Figure l)a`nyrelative rotation between spindle 88 and drum 90 has only the eiTect of tautening shade 214Y anddoes not result in movement of the shade to follow the rotation of the spindle and at the same time its tension maintains the shade in a taut condition. Also, when shade 24 is moved to the right, i. e. is unwound from drum 90, by the operating mechanism, spindle 88 is rotated at the same time that draw rod 25 (Figure 5) is drawn in the direction of the arrow. This direction of movement of the parts results in un-4 winding movement of roller 90, spring 96 forming adriving connection between the spindle and thedrum, the tension of the spring, however, remaining substantially constant so as to maintain the shade taut.

Thus in each direction vof rotation of spindle 88, spring 96 constitutes the driving connection between the spindle and drum 90, causing the drum to follow the spindle and' hence wind or unwind the shade thereon. The present tension in the spring remains substantially constant for either direction of rotation and accordingly maintains the shade smooth as the tendency of the spring is to uncoil regardless of the direction of rotation of the spindle and drum. The

struction is such that when crank 28 is rotated, a ydriving force is effected through shaft 52 which is transmitted to the rollers by the sprocket chain system.

Figure 5 shows schematically the entire arrangement and discloses that in the present embodiment sprocket chain 80 is duplicated at the bottom of the window-as indicated by 80a. Correvvspondingly, sprocket idlers 82a and 83a are provided in association with shade sprockets 18a and a.

The opposite ends of draw rods 23 and 25 are fixed respectively to sprocket chains 80 and 80a. Draw rod 23 has its upper end attached to the inside of the outer run of upper chain 80 and its lower end similarly attached to the outer run of lower chain 80a. (see Figure 5). Draw rod 25 has its upper end attached to the inside of the inner run of upper chain 80 and its lower end similarly fastened to the outer run of lower chain 00a. Thus when the draw rods 23 and 25 are adjacent as shown in Figure there is but little space between them through which light can leak. In order, however, to prevent draw rods 23 and 25 from engaging one another as they advance in the direction of the arrows in Figure 15, and accordingly precluding further movement in these directions, I have provided at each draw rod extremity a guide shoe, such as shoe |00 (Figure 14) provided at its opposite ends with tongues IUI which may be inserted in the chain,

'bowing theshoe around` the end of thedraw rod. Thus, as shown in Figure 15, the bottom l `ends ofr draw rods 23 and 2,5 areeach provided with a shoe V|00 which, being bowed vtoward one another, engage as the draw rods approach when moving in the direction of the'arrow, .thus preventing the draw rods from hitting one another. The upper ends of the draw rods aresimilarly provided With shoes |00 and -hence the `rods'are guided past one another as the shades 22 and 24 are closed. Thus the shades may be overlapped `throughout their entire length, shade 22 being 'nearer' the exterior, and shade24 being nearer the interior of the structure, as shown in Figure l2, it being this overlapping relationship which makes possible the combination of translucent and opaque colored'and uncolored materials. v

While I have shown window 20 (Figureli) so vdisposed that the shades 'travel horizontally, it

is to be understood that the shades are equally well adapted to operate vertically should such direction `of operation be desirable or required. Thus shade 22 and shade 24 may be overlapped throughout their entire length, shade 22 being ynearer the )exterior and shade 24 being nearer the interior;` And it is this overlapping relation- 'ship which makes possible the combination of translucent and opaque colored or uncolored materials.`A y

As various modifications may be made vof'the above invention and as changes may be made in the embodiment herein disclosed, all matter is to be considered as illustrative only and the scope yof the application is to be determined solely b the accompanying claims. l

' I claim:

A1. In shade apparatus of the character described, the combination including a pair of shades, means mounting said shades for movement toward one another, and means for moving the leading edgefof each shade toward that of Vthe other shade; each shade being divided roughly Yinto two equal portions along a line normal to its path of movement, and one of said portions being formed 'of an opaque material and the other being formed of a second material through which light rays can pass.

2. The invention of claim 1 wherein the shades are of the roller type and the second portion of each shade is outermost so that it is the first to unroll, and wherein each shade is suciently large to cover individually the window with which it is to be used, whereby the second portions of the two shades may be unrolled toward one another and cover the window, and whereby each shade may be extended across the window and the opaque portionscover the window.

3. In a double glazed window of the type having an air space between its panes, the combination with said window including: shade supporting means within said space, a roller shade carried upon said supporting means for movement be, tween said panes, cranking means extending through a side wall of said space for rotating said supporting means, means for moving the leading edge of the shade with respect to said supporting means, and a spring-like, yielding connection between the -shade and the rotating means.

4. In a double glazed window of the type having an air space between its panes, the combination with said window including: a shaft-like rod mounted in said space, a roller and roller shade loosely journalled upon said rod, cranking means extending through a side wall of said space for rotating said rod, means within said space for .awayfrom said roller, and spring meansfastened 'at one end to said rod and at the othei` end to `said roller to form a yieldable connection between said rod yand roller, whereby said shade may be `rolled and unrolled with the unrolled portion always remaining under substantially uniform spring tension.

`5. The invention of claim 4 wherein said means ifor rotating -said rodincludes a sprocket and sprocket chain, and .said means for moving the leading edge of said shade includes a connection `between said leading edge and said sprocket chain.

r6. In a double glazed window of the type having an .hermetically sealed air space between its panes, the combination withsaid window includ- -ingz a shade movabl/l mounted within said space, -rmechanism within said -space for moving said shade, control means connected with said'mechfanism zand extending` through a side wall of said space, and sealing means-between said wall and Vsaidcontrol means for maintaining the airtight character of said space.

7. In a doubleglazed window of the type having vanv'air space between itspanes, thecombina- 'tion with -said window including: a generally vertically 4extending roller shade mounted within said space, supporting means Within said 'space `for=said shade at its top `andbottom, a rod fas- `tened to the leading edge of said shade and eX- 'ten'ding thereabove and therebelow, and synchro- :nized driving means including a manually operable crank extending through a said wall of said space for simultaneouslyapplying moving forces to the top and bottom of said rod to move it within said space and toward or away from said lroller.

8. In window construction of the character described, the combination with said construction of: a vertically extending shaft-like rod on each :.side .of said window, a roller and roller shade mounted upon each rod, a sprocket mounted upon each rod, and an endless sprocket chain in vdriving relationship about and between said sprockets, the leading edge'of one roller shade being connected to one side of the sprocket chain as it extends between said sprockets, and the leading edge' of the other roller shade being connectedto th other side of said sprocket chain.

A'9. In a double-glazed window of the type having an -air space between its panes, the combination witlisaidwindow including a pair of shades .movably'mounted within said space, mechanism for moving said shades inn opposite directions across said Window in parallel lines so that their leading edges-may pass one another, the paths of said shades being closely adjacent, and means for facilitating the passage past one another of the leading edges of said shades.

10. Apparatus according to claim 9 wherein each leading edge of each shade is secured to a relatively thick rigid strip, and the facilitating means comprise mutually engageable members associated with said strips to prevent said strips abutting as the leading edges .of the shades pass one another.

11. Apparatus as` described in claim 10 wherein each of said mutually engageable members comprises a leaf spring which presents a concave resilient surface toward the other and has at each end an attaching tab to hold it in place.

12. .Apparatusas described in claim 1 wherein said shades are mounted along the opposite vertical edges of a rectangular window within a sealed space formed by a pair of spaced panes and a Window frame construction, and means to operate said shade apparatus including a rotatable shaft mounted in the frame construction and projecting into `said sealed space from the exterior thereof.

CLARENCE G. BARROWS REFERENCES CITED The followingreferences are of record in the file of this patent:

UNTTED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 276,152 Barricklo Apr. 24, 1883 '537,351 Newenschwander Apr. 9, 1895 673,779 Morgan May 7, 1901 `674,854 Crocker May 28, 1901 679,898 Josse Aug, 6, 1901 1,057,963 Herrmann Apr. 1, 1913 1,082,349 Likness Dec. 23, 1913 1,091,103 Wooton Mar..24, 1914 .1,515,373 Smith Nov. 11, 1924 `1,798,553 Nicholson Mar. 31, 1931 1,849,371 Gronbech Mar. 15, 1932 2,170,877 Simon Aug. 29, 1939 2,179,763 Smolowitz Nov. 14, 1939 2,186,786 Jensen Jan, 9, 1940 2,280,358 Tietig Apr. 21, 1942 2,281,022 Cavanaugh Apr. 28,1942 2,343,813 Simon Mar, 7, 1944 

